Mĕilì
by Kalisca
Summary: Eighth prompt of my 30 Kisses Challenge: Film. Elena hasn't come to work for a few days now, without any explanation. Tseng goes to investigate. TsengxElena


**This is the eighth fic for my 30 kisses challenge, using 30 random words I picked with a word generator. The challenge will not be centered on one specific pairing or fandom.**

**The word was _film_**** (The complete list is available on my profile page).**

**Disclaimer: The Final Fantasy VII characters and universe belong to Square Enix.**

**_Mĕilì_ means _beautiful_ or_ pretty _in Chinese, and I'm in no way familiar with the language, so I hope I'm using it in the right way in the fic.**

**Mĕilì**

Elena hadn't been coming to work for a few days now, and it wasn't her typical behaviour. The rookie of the Turks was sometimes a bit hyper, but she never missed a day of work. Something was wrong, and Tseng was becoming worried. He told himself he had to check on her as the head of the turks, and not as something else, but who was he kidding? He went to her apartment during the evening, knowing she'd probably be there.

Elena had puffy eyes and a red nose, and her voice was raspy when she greeted him, quietly sniffing.

"I came to ask why you weren't coming to work, but now I see."

"Yeah, I sent a message to Rufus, but it doesn't seem like he bothered to tell you guys, sorry."

The wutaian shook his head. "Don't worry, it's not the first time he does that, which is quite annoying."

"Um, okay then... I'd invite you in, but I wouldn't want to give you any of my germs."

He nodded. "Fine, but I shall return tomorrow with a few things to help with the flu."

"Oh no, Tseng, don't bother, you don't have to-"

"It's one of my duties, to take care of my Turks." Immediately he wanted to slap himself. The blonde woman seemed disappointed at his statement, and she quietly agreed.

The next day, he came by at noon with some medicines like he said, but he also had prepared a wutaian infusion which was famous in his native country to help the body defend itself. He knocked on the door, but nobody answered. Not thinking twice, Tseng retrieved the spare key Elena kept in a crack of the door frame to let himself in. The air was heavy with Elena's illness, but Tseng wasn't worried about himself. He hadn't fallen ill since he was twelve years old.

Letting the items he brought in the kitchen, he found Elena lying in the bed, asleep but shaking and a** film** of sweat covering her . No need to verify her temperature to know it was too high. He quickly prepared her a bath before returning to her.

He placed a hand on her shoulder, gently shaking her.

"Elena, you need to come with me."

"To work?" She mumbled, eyes glossy with fever. "Just gimme a minute, I'll get ready."

Despite her state, he fondly smiled at her. "No, you're too sick for that. I prepared a bath for you, it'll help with the fever."

She got up, but when she tried to walk, she almost fell, putting a hand on Tseng's outstretched arm to steady herself. He helped her to the bathroom, and once in, quietly let her alone when she claimed to still be able to undress alone.

While she was in the bath, he cleaned up a bit and noticed all of the DVDs out on the coffee table of the living room. All of the movies were beyond cheesy, and it's probably what Elena would tell him as well. He knew she liked to watch those when she didn't want to think too much, and he understood that. He himself had a few hobbies when he needed to relax...

He turned around when he heard the bathroom's door open, and there she was, smiling at him despite her weak physical state. Even sick, she was beautiful. _Mĕilì...__  
_

Tseng led her to the couch. He ordered her to take the various medicines he had brought before giving her the infusion. He then put in the DVD player one of the movies laying on the coffee table and sat beside her. When she saw the title, she couldn't help but laugh, and that made Tseng smile a bit.

As they were watching the movie, Elena relaxed more and more, thanks to the herbs in her drink, and at some point she was leaning against the man's side. She seemed to like his warmth, and he gently hugged her with one arm. He knew he wasn't supposed to act like that with her, it was beyond professionalism, but he didn't care anymore. Elena was more to him than a simple rookie in his crew. The credits began to roll, but they still didn't move.

"Tseng," mumbled Elena, close to sleep. She had her head resting on his chest now.

"Yes?"

"Thank you, for taking care of me. I know it's because I'm a Turk and you're my boss, but still, I appreciate it."

He gently placed a kiss on her forehead, pulling her tighter against his body.

"I'm not doing this because you're one of my Turks, I'm doing this because I care about you, Elena."

"For real?" She shifted so she could see his gorgeous features and deep eyes.

"For real."

She smiled, visibly happy. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him soundly on the lips... only to move on the opposite side of the couch, blushing.

"I'm sorry, it must be the fever." She was looking everywhere but at him, mortified. Even a fever couldn't explain this.

"Elena," said Tseng. He didn't seem angry, but with his poker face, you never was sure. Seeing as she wouldn't look at him, he went to her.

"I think... I think it'd be best for you to leave... I'm sorry."

"No, I won't. _Mĕilì_, look at me." After a bit of hesitation, she did so. "I liked it. In fact..."

He cupped her pretty face in his hands and leaned foward to access to her lips. She sighed when he kissed her, slowly moving his lips against hers. She sadly had to let him go after a short moment.

"My nose is clogged," she gasped. "Can't breath through it."

The wutaian actually laughed. He got up on his feet.

"I'll take my leave them, and I expect you to go back to sleep when I'll be gone. I'll come check on you tonight."

She smiled and nodded. She was still feeling sleepy after all, and sleep would help her get better. And getting better meant more kissing with Tseng, and that, she couldn't wait for more.

**The end**

**I got to admit I'm not a big fan of this pairing, but I rewatched ACC last week though, and I'd never realized just how pretty Tseng looked! It inspired me to write this fic (as Elena is supposed to have a crush on Tseng, I believe). :)**


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